US Urges China to Freely Float Currency at Start of Trade Talks
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has urged China to make its currency more flexible, at the start of high-level economic talks in Beijing.
Paulson is leading a U.S. delegation that includes several cabinet-rank officials and (Ben Bernanke,) the head of the Federal Reserve.
The delegation is under pressure from U.S. companies to take a hard line with China over the value of its currency and market access.
Washington says the yuan is being kept undervalued, making Chinese exports unfairly cheap and preventing U.S. companies from being competitive.
Paulson said Thursday that his delegation also will urge China to crackdown on product piracy.
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi says China is increasing imports to offset its trade surplus, and that the country is striving for a rough balance between imports and exports.
美国财政部长亨利.保尔森在北京的高层经济对话开始时敦促中国让货币更灵活。
保尔森率领一个包括几名内阁级官员和美国联邦储备委员会主席(伯南克)在内的代表团访问北京。
美国企业界向代表团施压，希望美国在人民币汇率和市场准入方面对中国采取强硬路线。
华盛顿认为，人民币币值被压低，使中国出口产品价格过低，使美国企业无法竞争。
保尔森星期四说，美国代表团还将敦促中国打击侵犯知识产权的行为。
中国国务院副总理吴仪说，中国正在增加进口，以抵消贸易顺差，中国正努力实现进出口的大致平衡。
